Mitch from Sports Chat Place guests on the Tonys Picks TV Show and offers his picks, predictions, previews and odds from the College Football Bowl Games in Part 1.

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Saturday December 20th
11AM ET–Nevada vs. Louisiana Lafayette (New Orleans Bowl) (ESPN)
Louisiana Lafayette favored by -1 point with a total of 61 points.
It was a disappointing year for Nevada to finish at 7-5 with senior QB Cody Fajardo at QB. At minimum I expected a West division total and trip to the Mountain West title game. In their last home game they lose by 20 to Fresno St. They closed the regular season winning at UNLV 49-27.
UL Lafayette finished at 8-4 and 7-1 in the Sun Belt behind 8-0 Georgia Southern. The Rajin Cajuns are good rushing team averaging 229 yards per game ranking 24th. Defending the run is a weakness for Nevada.
2:20PM ET–Utah St vs. UTEP (New Mexico Bowl) (ESPN)
Utah St is favored by -10 points with a total of 50 points
The Aggies had a good run to close the regular season winning six of their past seven games. Unfortunately they faced Boise St at the wrong time and get pounded 50-19 to close the regular season. Injuries impacted the quarterback position.
The UTEP Miners are back in a bowl game as they finished at 7-5. They beat up on soft opponents on their schedule and had trouble stepping up in competition.
3:30PM ET–Utah vs. Colorado St (Las Vegas Bowl) (ABC)
Utah is favored by -4 points with a total of 58 points.
It was a struggle on offense this year but Utah was mentally tough picking up wins against USC at home and Stanford, UCLA and Oregon St on the highway. They did crush a bowl team in Fresno St 59-27 at home this year.
Colorado St finished at 10-2 but suffered a monster loss at Air Force to close the regular season that cost the Rams a trip to the Mountain West conference championship game. They have a notable three point win at Boston College this year.
5:45PM ET–Western Michigan vs. Air Force (Idaho Potato Bowl) (ESPN)
Western Michigan is favored by -1 ½ points with a total of 56 ½ points.
It was an 8-4 season for Western Michigan. They carried a six game win streak to end the regular season at home against Northern Illinois and dropped a 31-21 decision that kicked them out of the MAC conference title game. They did drop a one point home decision to Toledo.
Air Force was the winner of the Commander In Chief Trophy by posting victories against Army and Navy on the year. They are 9-3 and got a nice upset home win against a good Colorado St team at home to close the regular season. Their triple option offense is tricky to defend.
9:15PM ET–South Alabama vs. Bowling Green (Carmelia Bowl) (ESPN)
South Alabama favored by -2 ½ points with a total of 53 ½ points.
The Jaguars finished off play at 6-6. They are losers of two straight and four of their past five games. They struggled stepping up in competition.
Bowling Green also enters play on a down note losers of three straight all by 7 or greater points. They lose 51-17 to Northern Illinois in the MAC Championship Game. They entered the title game because the East division was way down as the Cardinals finished with a 5-3 conference mark.
Monday December 22nd
2PM ET–BYU vs. Memphis (Miami Beach Bowl) (ESPN)
Memphis is favored by -1 point with a total of 57 ½ points.
BYU finished off the season at 8-4 and closed strong with four straight wins. They went to Cal to close out the regular season and came away with a 42-35 victory. They got hit with an injury to starting quarter Taysom Hill and turned the reigns over to senior Christian Stewart.
Memphis was the turnaround story for the 2014 college football season. They finished at 9-3 and were co-champions of the AAC conference with UCF and Cincinnati. The Tigers closed out play winners of six straight.
Tuesday December 23rd
6PM ET–Marshall vs. Northern Illinois (Boca Raton Bowl) (ESPN)
Marshall is favored by -10 ½ points with a total of 64 ½ points.
Northern Illinois peaked down the stretch by posting six straight wins. They had monster wins against Toledo, Western Michigan and in the MAC Title game they blew past Bowling Green 51-17.
Marshall struggled down the stretch failing to cover their final three games with a five point win at UAB, a 67-66 home overtime defeat to Western Kentucky and got past Louisiana Tech 26-23. The loss to Western Kentucky cost Marshall a trip to a New Years Day bowl game.
9:30PM ET–Navy vs. San Diego St (Poinsettia Bowl) (ESPN)
San Diego St is favored by -2 points with a total of 55 points.
This is not one of the stronger Navy teams in recent years but they did enough to become bowl eligible. They did crush a pretty good Georgia Southern team on November 15th. They played their best football when junior quarterback Keenan Reynolds returned to the lineup after an injury.
This game is being played in San Diego St’s home stadium. They finished the year at 7-5 and I think it’s a disappointment that the Aztecs didn’t make the Mountain West title game because the West division was very weak. Road losses at Fresno St and Nevada were critical. San Diego St did post good defensive numbers and knows how to defend the triple option with Air Force in their conference.
Wednesday December 24th
12PM ET–Central Michigan vs. Western Kentucky (Bahamas Bowl)(ESPN)
Western Kentucky is favored by -3 points with a total of 65 ½ points.
Both teams are 7-5. Central Michigan are winners of three of their past four games but the competition was rather weak. They lose 32-20 at home to Western Michigan in the regular season finale.
Western Kentucky has won four straight with wins against bowl bound teams in UTEP and Marshall. They also have a nine point road win at Navy this year. They have averaged 44 points a game this season.
8PM ET–Fresno St vs. Rice (Hawaii Bowl) (ESPN)
Rice is a -1 point favorite with a total of 58 ½ points.
After getting crushed in their first three games of the year the Bulldogs showed great improvement to make the Mountain West Championship game. The big win came at Nevada winning 40-20. They were beaten 28-14 at Boise St in the title game. First year quarterback Brian Burrell a junior JC transfer threw five picks over his past two games. They finished at 6-7.
Rice is a 7-5 team that dropped two of three. The competition was fierce as they lose 41-14 at Marshall and then 76-31 at Louisiana Tech to close the regular season.The Picks: The winning college football picks are available free right now to all callers to Tony’s Courtesy line by dialing 1-888-711-4311. [hana-code-insert name=’Call Me 2′ /]